Welcome to Portsmouth Cathedral, the Cathedral of the Sea!
All our visitors, whatever their age are captured by the history of our building and enjoy learning about the people who have used it for over 800 years. By providing guided tours, craft activities, singing workshops, and hosting many other themed events, we offer a memorable learning experience. The Bishop Kenneth Room is our dedicated education room in the North cloister. Workshop resources are kept here and there are facilities to give presentations and run small groups here too.
Year 6 Church School Leavers’ workshops and services
Over 1300 Year 6 children came to Portsmouth Cathedral to celebrate the end of their time at Primary School. A Stewardship Theme for the days focussed children on Bees - protecting their environment, creating artwork and looking up facts in a Quiz Trail. Some of the children’s artwork is now being displayed in local businesses and shop windows in Old Portsmouth. Why not visit the Cathedral to see the wonderful bee canvases and then follow the trail to explore Old Portsmouth and see the Bee artwork on display?
Click here to download the Trail Booklet.
Thank you to the following local businesses for displaying the children’s artwork to make the Bee Trail:
The Salon; The Petite Retreat - Pembroke Road
Alice Hulme Weaving; Charlie Leftley; Emma Nicol; I Can See The Sea - Hot Walls Studios
The Canteen
Fry & Kent Estate Agents - Broad Street
Spice Island Inn
50th Anniversary of Christingle celebrated with The Children’s Society (January 2019)
Children from C of E schools across the diocese came to our cathedral to mark 50 years of Christingle services in the UK. They enjoyed a morning of Christingle-themed workshops, followed by a Christingle service. For a full report, click here: http://bit.ly/2HHKQPh
Education at Portsmouth Cathedral
Schools
Schools can liaise with us to agree the children’s learning outcomes. We can also create bespoke workshops to support and enhance the teaching of current topics in schools.
In response to changes in the National Curriculum, we’ve developed new ideas to engage primary and secondary schools, reaching out to Further Education students too. As the ‘Cathedral of the Sea’, we have a unique position and role in the city of Portsmouth, and we look forward to your visit.
Teachers
Come along to our Twilight Sessions to see some of the activities we offer for your school visit. Use this as your pre-visit tour and to learn about Portsmouth Cathedral and how workshops can be tailored to meet your curriculum and your ideas.
Meet our Education team and share ideas with other teachers attending. Tea, coffee, and cake are free. All sessions run from 4:00pm to 5:30pm. Email education@portsmouthcathedral.org.uk to book.
We are grateful to The Friends of Portsmouth Cathedral who give generously to enable the children’s workshops to take place. We also thank a huge number of volunteers who help prepare resources and support children during the activity days.